Brackets / Single elimination / 18 teams

18-team single elimination bracket

17 games over 5 rounds. Seed 1, seed 2, seed 3, seed 4, seed 5, seed 6, seed 7, seed 8, seed 9, seed 10, seed 11, seed 12, seed 13 and seed 14 get a bye into round 2.

Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final G1 16 17 G2 15 18 G9 1 bye Winner G1 G3 8 bye 9 bye G4 4 bye 13 bye G5 5 bye 12 bye G10 2 bye Winner G2 G6 7 bye 10 bye G7 3 bye 14 bye G8 6 bye 11 bye G13 Winner G9 Winner G3 G11 Winner G4 Winner G5 G14 Winner G10 Winner G6 G12 Winner G7 Winner G8 G15 Winner G13 Winner G11 G16 Winner G14 Winner G12 G17 Winner G15 Winner G16

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18teams
17games to a champion
5rounds
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14seeds get a bye

The shape of a 18-team bracket

18 teams in a 32-slot bracket leave 14 byes, for seeds 1 to 14. The other 4 teams play 8 round-1 games, from 16 v 17 down to 6 v 11. After round 1, 16 teams are left and the bracket is full from there.

If the favourites win

That puts seed 1 against seed 4 and seed 2 against seed 3 in the semifinals.

SeedOpponents if favourites win (game)
1bye, then 16 (G9), 8 (G13), 4 (G15), 2 (G17)
2bye, then 15 (G10), 7 (G14), 3 (G16), 1 (G17)
3bye, then 14 (G7), 6 (G12), 2 (G16)
4bye, then 13 (G4), 5 (G11), 1 (G15)

How many games each team plays

The fewest is 1, for a team that loses its first game, which for a bye team is its round-2 game. The most is 5, and 4 for a champion that had a bye. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 4 and seed 18 plays 1.

How long it takes

17 games at 30 minutes is 8 h 30 min of court time. No round has more than 8 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.

CourtsClock time
18 h 30 min
24 h 30 min
43 h

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Round 1Seed 16Seed 17
G2Round 1Seed 15Seed 18
G3Round 2Seed 8Seed 9
G4Round 2Seed 4Seed 13
G5Round 2Seed 5Seed 12
G6Round 2Seed 7Seed 10
G7Round 2Seed 3Seed 14
G8Round 2Seed 6Seed 11
G9Round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G10Round 2Seed 2Winner of G2
G11QuarterfinalsWinner of G4Winner of G5
G12QuarterfinalsWinner of G7Winner of G8
G13QuarterfinalsWinner of G9Winner of G3
G14QuarterfinalsWinner of G10Winner of G6
G15SemifinalsWinner of G13Winner of G11
G16SemifinalsWinner of G14Winner of G12
G17FinalWinner of G15Winner of G16

Questions

How many games are in a 18-team single elimination bracket?

17.

How many rounds does a 18-team single elimination bracket have?

5 rounds.

Who gets the byes with 18 teams?

Seed 1, Seed 2, Seed 3, Seed 4, Seed 5, Seed 6, Seed 7, Seed 8, Seed 9, Seed 10, Seed 11, Seed 12, Seed 13 and Seed 14. They start in round 2.

Can I add a third-place game to a 18-team bracket?

Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 18 games.

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